By limp, do you mean that the whole clump is kind of drooping? When it gets big, it no longer always stays upright in a big clump. Pics would help a lot to see if there is a crown rot issue or it's just the actual growth habit.

I'm back with a picture of what I'm talking about. Thanks for any ideas.

Any chance you could wade through that lovely sea of Geranium macrorrhizum for a close up of where the stems meet the soil?

There's not much anyone can tell from this photo. It looks really pale to me. The petioles appear elongated. That could mean it's not getting enough light, but the paleness implies it's in too much sun. If it didn't have enough sun, it would be darker. The "falling over" looks like It might have some kind of fungus in the crown area.

So, here's where I would start:

1. I would look for southern blight.

2. Water it? (even if water is the problem, it will not recover rigidity this year, it will stay like it is and be back to normal next year)

3. Move to more shade?

bkay

Here is a close up. Some leaves simply pull out. Im not familiar with southern blight (at first I thought you meant southern light, until I read more shade). We have copious amounts of rain this year but it is a slope so it could dry out quickly I guess. Maybe geranium is not a good companion?

Never having experienced southern blight I will leave that to others to comment on but it certainly appears to be planted too deep. Crown rot is likely.

This last leaf picture——-does anyone think HVX?

If the leaves pull out w/ literally no effort, I agree w/ Southern Blight. The last leaf looks funky but I think sun damage more than anything at this point. For SB, pull out all leaves that just come off. You will likely see what looks like webbing at the very base of the petioles that come off. Look for little tiny "beads" of fungi at the base of the plant where the leaves pulled off.

If you see webbing and no beads yet, time to act quickly before they show up. Buy Bayer or Bioadvanced Disease control product with Tebuconazole in it. I prefer to *not* use the product that also has pesticide...not needed. You can get it at Lowes.

Mix the product as directed but rather than spraying, use it as a drench and thoroughly water the plant with it so it soaks into the soil.

If you DO see the "beads" around the base of the plant you need to manually remove them all and dispose of them in a bag in the trash. Those are the fruiting bodies that will perpetuate the fungus for years to come. You can use your fingers to remove them or even a shop vac works great. Try to get every little bead you can see. THEN do as indicated above and drench the plant.

http://www.hostalibrary.org/Disease/PestSB.htm

short primer on SBlight

I found no webbing... The slope was mulched with wood chips which may have slid down and buried the crown. How about if I dig it up and move to a shadier spot? (I thought the best color required some sun, but the scorched leaves must indicate that even this is too much.)

Yes, good plan kitasei. The Geranium m. was a fine companion by the way.

having been raised a flat lander ... and then moving to a lot with minor hills... i have found its very hard to water deeply .. like a hosta might appreciate ... even on a slight incline ... or decline. if you are on top ... lol ...

when you dig it up ..... report back.. and let us know about soil moisture at root depth ...

i doubt transient mulch movement matters much ...

you say it is 2 years old... what do you mean by that ... youve had it 2 years???

when was it planted there??

note it is all the outer ....older leaves.. the newer center leaves look ok.. and it is about to flower .. now that you rule out SB .... im thinking lack of water at depth ... perhaps the ground cover is confusing us .. because it is getting enough water.. due to shallower roots .. go figure on that ...

i might just leave it there .... SS is rather full sun tolerant.. and perhaps.. as it grows a bigger root mass ... it can thrive there ..

but.. if you already moved to.. so be it .... just get it more water ...

ken

Ken, I suspect you are right about the water runoff on a slope. I am not enamored of its position anyway. I think the beauty of a hosta like this is seeing its layers, which are lost when it's planted at an angle. I'm also not enthusiastic about the geranium as companion. They are too close to the same height so again the layers of hosta are lost. Look how much one can learn from a mistake. More and more this is what I like about gardening.

in life.. i learned more through my mistakes.. ... than i ever did with success ... lol ...

i mean really.. what more is there to learn.. if you do it all properly ...

ergo.. wing it.. and keep learning.. lol ...

ken

That is Southern Blight. I’ve been dealing with it for two weeks now. Get some treatment going soon or you will lose the plant.